Chanel

5 Things I’ve Been Loving Lately

October 23rd, 2019 by Karen 21 Comments

three fall scents — Lovin’ these perfumes

1. These fall fragrances

Mind you, I don’t know if these three should be officially considered “fall scents,” but it is fall here now…and I have been rotating among these scents and lovin’ ’em.

Maison Francis Kurkdijian Femin Pluriel: A chypre floral with notes of iris, violet, rose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, orange blossom, vetiver and Indonesian patchouli leaf.
I like this one, and it doesn’t hurt that nobody else I know wears it.
MAC Shadescent in Creme d’Nude: This soft, clean amber musk is spiked with caramel, and it smells like clean, schmexy skin.
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle: An oriental floral with notes of mandarin orange, orange blossom, bergamot, jasmine, Turkish rose, ylang-ylang, vanilla, vetiver and white musk. This one’s a classic feminine “sweater weather” scent.

2. This funk version of Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You by Scary Pockets

Those runs are so crisp! Plus, how could you not love that name: “Scary Pockets?” LOL!

3. Vegetables

My sweet tooth GOES HARD, so 99% of the time I’m more likely to crave fruit than vegetables, but lately I’ve been all about the veggies. Literally, I’ve been eating plates and plates of them for lunch and dinner (not so much for breakfast though). My faves du jour right meow are the little bags of organic snap peas from Trader Joe’s.

Park me in a corner with a side of Bolthouse Salsa Ranch Yogurt Dressing, and I’M A HAPPY GIRL. 😁

bolthouse farm salsa ranch — So yummy… So healthy…

4. 1920’s-era dresses

Must be all the Downton Abbey I’ve been watching, LOL! I love the drop waists and how loose and comfortable everything looks. I also like the beading and the fringe (even if the fringe doesn’t look cat lady-friendly).

5. Having a cat place demands on me again

Every day, Pretty Girl Rosie opens up a little more and lets us get to know her better. This week we learned she’s quite feisty! Like, if she wants lurvies, and she wants them now, you’re GOING TO GIVE THEM TO HER. Or, there will be consequences…

She’s already claimed my desk and windowsill…

What’ve you been loving lately? 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel, You’re Rockin’ My World at the Moment!

July 10th, 2019 by Karen 4 Comments

chanel contour graphique — A little Chanel never hurt anyone.

Heya, friend. I’m sitting here at my desk with a rumbly tumbly because I’m waiting on an air conditioning specialist to stop by for an estimate. (Side note: Phase one of Operation Casa Mini Remodel is officially underway.) Two things I’ve learned so far about home remodels and home repair projects:

Anything that can break, will break, and surprise! — everything breaks at the same time.
Waiting on the people who can fix those broken things wreaks havoc on your lunch plans, because when someone says, “I’ll be there between 10 a.m. and noon,” that’s code for “I’ll ring your doorbell at 12:15.”

Anyway, yeah, I’m waiting on someone right now, and I’m hungry, but I don’t want to start making food because then I’ll have to eat it really fast, or wait and have it get cold, or awkwardly shovel a frozen breakfast burrito down my gullet in front of a stranger…

This is probably a good time to distract myself with one of my favorite things in the whole wide world: mascara.

I’ll gleefully try each and every new mascara that promises lusciously long lashes, but the one I’ve been loving lately is Dimensions de Chanel Mascara.

I got hooked on it last spring when Chanel introduced the shade Nero Metallo, a smoldering deep onyx (take a breath, it’s still available!).

chanel dimensions de chanel — Oh, hello lashes!

The bristle brush wand stretches the stubbiest strands up toward the sky, and one coat coaxes my skinny, straight lashes into a captivating curved fringe that could pass for a pair of falsies. And yes, it does all this without flakes, clumps, smudges or smears.

As for removal, an oil-based makeup remover takes it off in a snap.

I’ve been wearing it daily for a while (you may have noticed), and I can’t get enough.

I also can’t get enough of products that can be used for more than just one thing, because why not have an eyeshadow that doubles as an eyeliner? — which is exactly what you get with the Chanel Stylo Ombre et Contours. (I’m on a Chanel kick, as you can see.)

Twist-up cream shadows have been around forever, but it’s rare to find one that’s blend-adble enough to play with on your lids, and long-wearing enough to stay put on the waterline.
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Liquid Lipstick Love

June 26th, 2019 by Karen 13 Comments

chanel rouge allure ink — These are fabulous!

I’m tempting fate whenever I wear lipstick with white clothes, but I like to live on the edge, mwahahahaha!

chanel luxuriant — A rebel (not really) in Chanel Luxuriant

I’ve been all about the Chanel Rouge Allure Ink liquid lipsticks ($38 each), man. They came out a few years back, and they’re still a fixture in the permanent collection. Thank goodness for that, too, because there’s really nothing else quite like them. They’re like a shy first kiss…and you can crack as many cheesy smiles with them as you want, because the creamy, pigmented formula stays smooth for hours.

PRODUCT
A long-lasting liquid lipstick with a smooth texture that glides on like a gloss and sets with a luminous, velvet-like finish.

COMPOSITION
Polymers, waxes and plant oils smooth and nourish lips, while Jojoba Oil and a unique anti-oxidant complex offer hydration and protective benefits. The applicator tip allows for comfortable and easy application. In a provocative range of red-tint shades, from tart pink to deep brown-noir.

HOW TO APPLY
Define lip contours then fill in with colour.

Source: chanel.com

The soft velvet matte finish is also softer and less “aggro” than your typical liquid lippie, which I think makes them perfect for casual summer makeup. Lately, I’ve been bouncing between warm pink Amoureaux and two bright reds — berry red Luxuriant and bluish red Choquant. There are 20 colors to choose from, and I want all of ’em.

Hey, Mr. D.J.!

Science really needs to figure out how to tap into the part of the brain that can remember song lyrics from 20 years ago with startling clarity, because when Connor and I were at DSW the other day, Hey Mr. DJ started playing over the store speakers, and I was singing along without skipping a beat.

Remember when the first few bars of this song would play in the club and everyone would lose their damn mind?? In the alternate reality that is the musical version of my life, everyone in the DSW would have dropped whatever shoes they were trying on and danced in the aisles, ha ha ha!

Speaking of blasts from the past…

I spotted ube ice cream in the frozen section at TJ’s last week!

Ube, also known as taro root, is a purple yam (Hawaiians make poi out of it), and when I was growing up, my parents would buy ube ice cream for us at the small Filipino grocery store in our town… I think it tastes like a combination of vanilla and cashews. The taste of my childhood!

Some ube ice creams are sweeter than others, and the Trader Joe’s one isn’t as sweet as some, which I like. I paced myself and ate the pint over the course of three days, but I could’ve easily finished it in one sitting with a spoon and a Reese Witherspoon movie.
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Easy Everyday Makeup Look: Summer Breeze

June 25th, 2019 by Karen 17 Comments

Today I wore this summery look to run a couple errands and drop off Coywolf at her first day of summer fun/school. I used lots of Chanel, with a mix of new and old faves, because I love the way they handle color. They use juuuust enough, so you don’t go from zero to rodeo clown in a hummingbird heartbeat.

Swatches and details on the key products down below.

Key items

Base: All I’m wearing is a 50/50 mix of It Cosmetics CC+ Illumination and Oil-Free Matte Tinted Moisturizers (the shade I wear is Tan), which I applied with my fingers on top of Aveeno Baby Sunscreen. No setting powder, no concealer.

I like the way this base looks and feels, especially when it’s hot out, because I get medium coverage with minimal product. My pores feel like they can still breathe, and the makeup stays put no matter how much I sweat. Of course, you could go for either Illumination (which works wonders as an under-eye concealer, by the way) or Matte, but I like to mix the two because HI, MY NAME IS KAREN, AND I LIKE TO COMPLICATE THINGS.

If mixing doesn’t sound appealing to you, then I recommend going for the Matte, but still adding one or two drops of your favorite liquid highlighter (MAC’s Strobe cream is the best for mixing into foundations, IMHO).

Eyeshadow: The Chanel Les Beiges Natural Eyes palette is SO GOOD. The eyeshadows have the smooth glide of gel-powder hybrids, and you can blend any combo of the colors with just few windshield wiper swipes. If you love the Chantecaille cream shadows in pots (which are fantastic but very $$$), these Chanel shadows have a similarly creamy consistency and light-as-air appearance. You won’t find any of them, even the shimmers, settling into fine lines.

Brows: Speedy brows! This was my first time trying It Cosmetics Brow Power Micro Universal Defining Eyebrow Pencil in Universal Taupe, and I’m LOVING it. There’s a super skinny twist-up pencil on one end to draw precise lines, and a stiff brow spoolie on the other. I did these brows in a minute, and it was completely non-stressful because the pencil deposits a good amount of color, but yet it’s mellow enough to not look harsh or blocky.

Cheeks and Lips: I love how Chanel’s cream blushes blend right into your foundation without lifting it up or moving it around. I also like how they never look obvious. The blush I’m wearing here is an older one that looks like it isn’t around anymore (No. 25), but there are many other creams available on the Chanel site.

The lip combo is Rouge Allure Ink (Chanel’s lightweight liquid lipstick) in Amoreux, topped with Rouge Coco Gloss in 172 (semi-sticky but long-lasting).

More pics!

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The Chanel Les Beiges Natural Eyeshadow Palette

June 20th, 2019 by Karen 17 Comments

You know when you get something new that you really like but you want to save it for a special occasion, but then Mother’s Day comes and goes, your birthday comes and goes, and you realize that if you keep waiting for a big moment to bust it out, you’ll just end up waiting forever, so one day you just go for it and use it on a random Wednesday?

Well, I’ve been saving this gorgeous neutral eyeshadow palette from Chanel — which is certifiable Karen makeup crack! — for a special occasion because it’s just SO DANG PRETTY. Simply staring at it ignites my lusty makeup passion…

You know the struggle, I’m sure.

So, I finally wore it yesterday, and what was the special occasion, you might ask?

Answer: Wednesday. It was a Wednesday. That is all.

And it was also Connor’s first ballet class of the summer…but the main reason was just that it was Wednesday. 🙂

For once, I was not rolling up to the dance studio in a topknot, black yoga pants and nothing other than mascara, with my usual layer of coffee fuzz on my teeth. Instead, it felt good to really wear some makeup — eyeshadow, liner, blush, lipstick, foundation, and the whole kit and caboodle — like I used to when I’d rock a full face to Target to buy a bag of emergency M&Ms.

Oh, and I rediscovered a Chanel cheek/lip coral combo I used to wear all the time with Malice blush and Creatif liquid lipstick. The corals go well with the warm golden browns from the eye palette (as does the Chanel Mat Taupe liner I wore today).

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